Saudi princess comments on the kingdom’s rivalry with neighbors, especially the UAE

Saudi Deputy Minister of Tourism Princess Haifa Al Saud said the kingdom aims to increase the sector’s contribution to GDP by up to 10 percent and noted that competition in the region is “healthy”.

The Saudi princess said that the kingdom, in setting its vision for 2030, sought to diversify the economy away from oil, and indicated in an interview with CNN that the tourism sector’s contribution to gross domestic product is 3 percent in 2018, and that the kingdom aims to increase this percentage. up to 10 percent in 2030.

Asked about competition with countries in the region in tourism, especially Dubai, the Saudi minister said: “Competition is good and healthy,” adding, “Together we are stronger.”

And on whether the kingdom should act differently in order to stand out, the princess said, “We should act this way because we as a region form a point of attraction for the world, and together we are stronger.”

According to the Saudi newspaper Sabq, Saudi Arabia’s tourism revenue was 27 billion riyals in the first half of 2022.

The newspaper added that the tourism and travel sector in the GCC represents a strong influx as it achieved high growth rates before the coronavirus pandemic and contributed an average of 9.7 percent to GCC GDP in 2019.

According to the newspaper, in 2019 the contribution of the travel and tourism sector in the UAE reached 11.7% of GDP, while in Saudi Arabia it reached 9.7% in the same year.

Source: RT + “previously”

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